The Good Servant
by Taluhk
Summary: An unusual young Vulcan male comes into the service of the S'chn T'gai household, one who will challenge Amanda's acceptance of the Vulcan Way.


**Author's Note: Apologies, for some reason the formatting was messed up on the original version of this document. It should be fixed now.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Amanda, Vulcan Sarek or much else really. But I do own a rather cantankerous, stinky, elderly cat. Lucky me.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Introductions<strong>

Lady Amanda of Vulcan awoke to the sun streaming in through the panoramic windows in her bedchamber. Sarek had already left to spend the day at Council, and she was quite looking forward to one of her favourite activities: meeting the new servants who would be joining her household staff.

She bounded out of bed (nobody was around; why not act human while she had a chance?) and saw to her ablutions. Her lady-in-waiting, T'Zel, arrived a few minutes after she had finished showering in order to help her dress.

"I must admit, T'Zel, I find it rather fascinating to meet our new staff. I hear we have some interesting new recruits today" said Amanda as T'Zel helped her tie on her multilayered robes. "Indeed we do, my Lady" replied T'Zel respectfully. "We have two females - a cook and a seamstress - and a young male scullery servant." Amanda nodded and continued, "I understand the young male is of our clan and that his father specifically requested he enter our service. It is unusual for one so high born to join the serving classes and I am curious to discover why this is the case." T'Zel looked away for a moment, apparently working on maintaining her controls, before replying: "I believe, my Lady, that he has some… defect, that prevents him from attaining a suitable position according to his birthright".

Amanda stared at T'Zel in surprise for a moment. A Vulcan with a defect! Damn, the way her husband told it, you'd think that every Vulcan was perfect in every way! Truth be told, Amanda was quite comfortable working with people of different abilities: her early teaching career on Earth had seen her spend some time working as a teaching assistant for an autistic boy, a duty which she had found both rewarding and enlightening. She was curious to see what could be considered 'defective' about this particular Vulcan male.

-x-

After First Meal, T'Zel lined up the new recruits in Lady Amanda's reception chamber and awaited the arrival of her mistress. She found it difficult to take her eyes off the young male, who was quite striking in appearance. Lady Amanda swept into the room and T'Zel began the introductions. First was T'Nara, the new cook who came with excellent recommendations from the Terran Embassy in ShiKahr; followed T'Sina, the seamstress whose designs have been the talk of high society… and then all eyes fell on the young male.

"My Lady, may I present Tovorek, your kinsman from a low-ranking house within your clan. Tovorek has been bound in your service by his father, who is… unable to educate him in his chosen field for reasons of his defect".

Amanda took a close look at Tovorek. He appeared tall and handsome like most males in her clan, and he certainly bore those distinctive S'chn T'gai ears… but his most striking features were his straw-blond hair and his blood-green eyes - highly unusual features for a Vulcan. "I come to serve, My Lady" he intoned with an elegant bow.

"Welcome, Tovorek" said Amanda, bowing slightly in return. "Your service honours us. However, I am curious as to the extent of this 'defect' which has caused your father to place you in bonded servitude".

Tovorek took a deep breath: he was aware that his mistress was human and might not be familiar with the ramifications of his appearance. "My Lady" he began, "you may have noticed the colour of my eyes and my hair. I regret to inform you that these are due to a genetic defect which has also rendered my extremely hard of hearing." Tovorek stood still, believing that his explanation had been sufficient.

"Forgive my ignorance, Tovorek… but I fail to see how some unusual colouring and a hearing difficulty could cause your father to consider you ineducable." said Amanda.

"My Lady, my father allowed me to complete my basic education, but he considers it illogical to waste any further resources on me as I have a reduced lifespan." replied Tovorek. "Reduced lifespan?" asked Amanda. "How does such defect affect your lifespan?"

Tovorek looked uncomfortably at the other Vulcans in the room. It would appear he would have to explain himself more fully. "My Lady" explained Tovorek, "as you are aware, Vulcan males are at the mercy of our females during certain… times of our lives. As such, the females hold power over us and can choose between available males for a mate. My Lady, my father was unable to secure a bondmate for me as no female would want to produce children with a male who has an obvious genetic defect. Therefore, I expect to perish during my first Time, which should occur within the next 20 years."


End file.
